Retail trade went down in Malta for the second consecutive month between February and March, in contrast to the eurozone which registered no change.
Eurostat reported on Monday that when compared to a year earlier, Malta nevertheless reported an increase of 1.3 per cent, which was, however, lower than the eurozone average of 1.9 per cent.
In the eurozone in March 2019, compared with February 2019, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.6% for food, drinks and tobacco, while automotive fuel decreased by 0.6% and non-food products by 0.4%.
The largest increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Lithuania (+1.7%), Portugal (+1.2%) and the United Kingdom (+1.1%).
The highest decreases were observed in Slovenia (-3.1%), Croatia (-1.9%) and Austria (-0.8%).